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Abortion in Wyoming

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Abortion in Wyoming is legal up to fetal viability. A temporary court injunction was filed against an attempted near total abortion ban in 2023, and a Wyoming judge struck down the abortion ban in 2024.[1][2]

After the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, abortion ceased to be a federally protected right.

On March 15, 2022, Wyoming's legislature passed HB92, a trigger law that would ban abortion beginning five days after the overturn of Roe v. Wade.[3] Under HB92, abortion is illegal except for cases of rape, incest (reported to law enforcement) and serious risk of death or "substantial and irreversible physical impairments" for the pregnant woman.[4]

On March 17, 2023, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed a law banning abortion pills, becoming the first state in the country to do so.[5]

Abortion was a criminal offence in Wyoming in 1950. Less-restrictive abortion legislation was introduced in 1997 but not passed. In 2013, a fetal heartbeat bill was introduced in the Wyoming House of Representatives but never made it out of committee. In January 2017, a mandatory ultrasound law went into effect, however, it lacked an enforcement mechanism.

The number of abortion clinics in the state has been on the decline since the late 20th century, going from eight in 1982 to five in 1992 to one in 2014, and remaining at that total in 2016, 2017 and 2019.  At the same time, a few medical facilities in the state have quietly offered abortion services to women. In 2017, 140 abortions took place in the state, representing nearly 0.0% of all such procedures in the US that year.[6] Some Wyomingites participated in Stop the Bans rallies in May 2019 to advocate for women's right to abortion.[7]

The 2023 American Values Atlas reported that, in their most recent survey, 52% of people from Wyoming said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[8]

History

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In 2017, there were medical facilities that would perform abortions, but they did not make this information public, and women could only find out about these services if they were existing patients.[9]

Legislative history

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In 1950, the state legislature passed a law stating that a woman who had an abortion or actively sought to have an abortion regardless of whether she went through with it was guilty of a criminal offense.[10] It is not clear how often the law was enforced. A bill protecting women's access to abortion was introduced in 1997 but did not succeed in getting a floor vote.[11]

A fetal heartbeat bill, HB 97, was introduced in the Wyoming House of Representatives in January 2013 by Kendell Kroeker; however, in February 2013 the bill was struck down by a house committee in a 4–5 vote.[12][13] The state legislature was one of five states nationwide that tried to pass such a bill that year.[14] On July 1, 2017, a law passed by the state legislature went into effect the prohibited the sale of fetal tissue.  Another law that went into effect that day required abortion service providers to give women seeking abortions an ultrasound, but it had no enforcement component.[9] As of May 14, 2019, the state prohibited abortions after the fetus was viable, generally some point between week 24 and 28. This period uses a standard defined by the US Supreme Court in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade ruling.[15]

Judicial history

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The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could not regulate abortion in the first trimester.[10] However, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, No. 19-1392, 597 U.S. ___ (2022) later in 2022.[16][17] However, a judge in Wyoming found that abortion bans violate the state constitution's clause providing for the right of Wyomingites to make their own health care decisions, passed in a 2012 ballot measure [18] The abortion ban was struck down in November 2024.[19]


Clinic history

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Number of abortion clinics in Wyoming by year
See also: Abortion clinic

Between 1982 and 1992, the total number of abortion clinics in the state declined by three, going from eight to five.[11] In 1990, family practice Emerg-A-Care opened in Jackson as urgent care so that tourists in the area would feel comfortable visiting if they needed medical treatment. Among the services they offered were abortion services.[9]

In 2014, there officially was one abortion clinic in the state;[20] 96% of counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic, and 96% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[21] In March 2016, there was only one Planned Parenthood clinic in the state.[22] After Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains switched from directly billing women to directly billing Medicaid in 2016, they ran into funding bills as Medicaid has low reimbursement rates. Consequently, they were forced to close three clinics in Colorado and Wyoming in July 2017. The closure of the Wyoming clinic meant the state had no more Planned Parenthood clinics, making Wyoming one of two states without a Planned Parenthood clinic.[23] North Dakota, Wyoming, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia were the only six states as of July 21, 2017, not to have a Planned Parenthood clinic that offered abortion services.[23] In 2017, there was still only one abortion clinic in Wyoming, but there were claims of two other providers in Jackson Hole that privately would perform abortions for existing patients. These health centers provided around one to five abortions a year.[9] Emerg-A-Care also served women from eastern Idaho. Less than 0.5% of their practice involved providing abortion services. Of the abortions performed in 2017, 80% were medical.[9] In 2020, Emerg-A-Care was sold to a local hospital.[24]

Historical statistics

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In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero reported illegal abortion deaths in the state.[25] In 1990, 50,000 women were at risk of unintended pregnancies.[11] In 2014, 48% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[26] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 4.6 deaths per 1,000 live births. High infant mortality and lack of access to reproductive health care are closely correlated in Wyoming, as in many other states.[27]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[28]
Census division and state Number Rate % change 1992–1996
1992 1995 1996 1992 1995 1996
US total 1,528,930 1,363,690 1,365,730 25.9 22.9 22.9 –12
Mountain 69,600 63,390 67,020 21 17.9 18.6 –12
Arizona 20,600 18,120 19,310 24.1 19.1 19.8 –18
Colorado 19,880 15,690 18,310 23.6 18 20.9 –12
Idaho 1,710 1,500 1,600 7.2 5.8 6.1 –15
Montana 3,300 3,010 2,900 18.2 16.2 15.6 –14
Nevada 13,300 15,600 15,450 44.2 46.7 44.6 1
New Mexico 6,410 5,450 5,470 17.7 14.4 14.4 –19
Utah 3,940 3,740 3,700 9.3 8.1 7.8 –16
Wyoming 460 280 280 4.3 2.7 2.7 –37
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
Location Residence Occurrence % obtained by

out-of-state residents

Year Ref
No. Rate^ Ratio^^ No. Rate^^ Ratio^^
Wyoming 642 5.8 83 — — — — 2014 [29]
Wyoming 493 4.5 67 — — — — 2016 [30]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births

Financing

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In 1998, women could only receive public funds for an abortion if continuing the pregnancy put their life at risk, if the pregnancy was a result of rape that was reported within five days of it occurring, or was a result of incest.[11] In 2010, the state had zero publicly funded abortions.[31]

Abortion rights views and activities

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Dissent against restrictive laws

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Women from the state participated in rallies supporting access to abortion as part of the Stop the Bans (#StoptheBans) effort in May 2019. Wyoming Equality was one of the organizers for the Cheyenne #StoptheBans protest that drew women from across the state.[32]

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, dozens of abortion rights protestors rallied and marched outside Wyoming's only clinic offering abortion services in Casper.[33]

Anti-abortion views and activities

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Violence

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In 1994, a domestic terrorist responsible for attacks in multiple states bombed the Emerg-A-Care health center in Jackson during the night, causing large amounts of smoke damage that resulted in the clinic being closed for several weeks.[9]

On May 25, 2022, a masked woman set a fire at a planned abortion clinic in Casper, Wyoming. The ATF offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to her arrest.[34]

References

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  1. ^ Gruver, Mead (March 22, 2023). "Judge halts Wyoming abortion ban days after it took effect". AP News. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  2. ^ King, Jordan (November 19, 2024). "Judge Turns Tables on Wyoming Republicans to Block Abortion Ban". Newsweek. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "HB0092 - Abortion prohibition-supreme court decision". www.wyoleg.gov. March 15, 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  4. ^ "Supreme Court ruling to trigger Wyoming abortion ban | County 17". 25 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Abortion pills now banned in Wyoming after governor signs bill into law". ABC News. Retrieved 2023-07-06.
  6. ^ "State Facts about Abortion: Wyoming". data.guttmacher.org. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 2021-10-02.
  7. ^ ""Stop The Bans" Gatherings Held Across The Region". Wyoming Public Media. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  8. ^ "Abortion Views in All 50 States: Findings from PRRI's 2023 American Values Atlas | PRRI". PRRI | At the intersection of religion, values, and public life. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  9. ^ a b c d e f McCann, Allison (May 23, 2017). "Seven states have only one remaining abortion clinic. We talked to the people keeping them open". Vice News. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  10. ^ a b Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
  11. ^ a b c d Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. Diane Publishing. ISBN 9780788174810.
  12. ^ Hancock, Laura (January 29, 2013). "Wyoming House Panel votes down abortion bill". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  13. ^ "WY HB0097 - 2013 - Regular Session". LegiScan.
  14. ^ Lai, K. K. Rebecca (2019-05-15). "Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  15. ^ Lai, K. K. Rebecca (2019-05-15). "Abortion Bans: 8 States Have Passed Bills to Limit the Procedure This Year". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  16. ^ de Vogue, Ariane (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade". CNN. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  17. ^ How4e, Amy (June 24, 2022). "Supreme Court overturns constitutional right to abortion". SCOTUSblog. Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Gruver, Mead (March 22, 2023). "Judge halts Wyoming abortion ban days after it took effect - ABC News (go.com)". ABC News.
  19. ^ King, Jordan (November 19, 2024). "Judge Turns Tables on Wyoming Republicans to Block Abortion Ban". Newsweek. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  20. ^ Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Panetta, Grace; lee, Samantha (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  22. ^ Bohatch, Emily. "27 states with the most Planned Parenthood clinics". thestate. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  23. ^ a b "Here's Where Women Have Less Access to Planned Parenthood". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  24. ^ "Blue: Emerg-A-Care sale isn't retirement". Retrieved 2021-12-01.
  25. ^ Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86–92. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR 2133995. PMID 1269687.
  26. ^ "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center". Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  27. ^ "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. 24 May 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  28. ^ Henshaw, Stanley K. (2005-06-15). "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 30: 263–270. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  29. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 29166366.
  30. ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68 (11): 1–41. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 31774741.
  31. ^ "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  32. ^ Foulk, Grace (21 May 2019). "Wyoming Equality hosts #stopthebans Cheyenne event". www.wyomingnewsnow.tv. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
  33. ^ Harris, Maya Shimizu (July 30, 2022). "Groups protest outside clinic after ban blocked". Laramie Boomerang. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  34. ^ "Masked, hooded woman seen on video setting fire at what would be Wyoming's only abortion clinic". CBS News. June 9, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
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